The headlines about the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site usually include “arbitration,” “notice of dispute,” and “finally started” — with only the occasional mention of any good news. For the people involved with the construction of all the towers and public spaces at the 16-acre site, many of whom have been at it for close to a decade now, this can be particularly frustrating. Because they have been working, regardless of the squabbling between the 19 stakeholders — Silverstein Properties, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, ConEd, Verizon, and a host of notoriously slow city agencies
Almost a decade after the attacks of 9/11, much of the new World Trade Center site remains under construction, with signature pieces like the Freedom Tower, the Frank Gehry performing arts pavilion and the 9/11 Memorial registering as little more than architectural renderings to most New Yorkers. But for the past seven years, at least one project right in the middle of it all has been fully operational � although not in its fully realized aesthetic glory. Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, celebrated for his perfectly engineered minimalist transit centers around the world, was selected to design the WTC PATH Hub.
Grand plans for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center included a who's who of the architectural world: Daniel Libeskind on the site plan, Santiago Calatrava on the the transit hub, Richard Rogers and Fumihiko Maki on towers three and four, Michael Arad and Peter Walker for the memorial. America's most famous architect, Frank Gehry, was selected to design the new $700 million performing arts center, to house the Joyce Theater and the Signature Theater Company. The Signature, which revolutionized the New York theater scene by dedicating entire seasons to the works of one playwright at a time and has
Despite, or perhaps because of, the city’s density and relative proximity to a public park, walking is an almost extinct pastime in New York City. In certain enclaves, elderly immigrants do spend their evenings strolling in pairs with hands clasped behind their backs. Transplants from more scenic U.S. states escape the city altogether for some fresh air upstate. Some fortunates walk to work. But with a metropolitan obsession with fitness and competition, most of the city’s citizens enjoy parks in an uber-active manner, be it training for marathons in Central Park or cycling faster than the adjacent car traffic along
When the owners of the Empire State Building in 2007 decided to move forward with a new capital improvement plan, they were looking for standard improvements to get the building to Class A commercial status. At the time they were looking at traditional, "common sense" improvements, such as bringing the 25% to 30% of the building lacking air conditioning some thermal control. The Empire State Building retrofit was selected by the Clinton Climate Initiative as the first, symbollic project for its retrofit division. CCI is now partner in more than 250 retrofits in 20 cities across the world. The team
Landscape architects are shaping the future of our cities as seen from the sidewalk – and the roof, and the internal courtyard and along the highway. They are responsible for keeping human waste out of our beaches, our cities from burning up in a haze of melting asphalt and our fragile psyches from self-destructing due to too much stress. Image: Field Operations State Island’s Fresh Kills park will create 2,200 acres of park space out of the world’s largest landfill. Designed by New York City-based Field Operations, the park will feature wetlands, waterways, hills, and skyline views. It is expected
Just north from the Museum of the City of New York, Hill International is wrapping up work on a smaller, but no less prominent project: the renovation of El Museo del Barrio. The museum is one of several tenants in the 1921 Beaux Arts building on Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th streets, and is undergoing a facelift to celebrate the Latino cultural institution's 40th anniversary. Related Links: A Museum Worthy of Its Name New York’s Gruzen Samton Architects won the competition for the renovation in 2000, but between then and 2006, the project grew in scope several times from
New York City’s official chronicler on Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street was originally designed in 1929 as a grand mansion suitable for its subject matter. Image: Polshek Partnership Architects At $80 million and covering three phases, the renovation and expansion of the museum will see the reworking of 90,000 sq ft and the addition of 23,000 sq ft of space. Related Links: El Museo del Barrio The city’s wealthiest residents funded the construction of the five-story Museum of the City of New York in Georgian Revival style, with a grand entrance facing the world’s most famous city park. Mayor James
A sustainable, mixed-use complex with an “iconic and distinctive” design gets underway in New Jersey’s capital city. The development of a 700,000-sq-ft LEED platinum Class A office tower currently in pre-construction in Trenton, N.J., is tied to the revitalization of the city, and the building’s green credentials are being achieved at a minimum of cost. The 25-story Vista Center in Trenton, N.J. will feature 12,000 sq ft of street-level retail, a 1,140-car garage and a public plaza. The 25-story Vista Center, being developed by Capital Real Estate Group of Trenton, will offer offices in increments of up to 200,000 sq